Friday the 13th - Part II

'Friday the 13th' may have been panned by critics when first released but since then it is one of the most famous and influential horror films, the franchise containing one of horror's most iconic villains. The film is popular enough to become a franchise and spawn several sequels of varying quality and generally inferior to the one that started it all of.

Of the sequels, 'Friday the 13th Part 2' is one of the better ones easily and one of the few instalments to be as good, even on par. It's not perfect, it's not what one would call great. It does however achieve its primary goals well, it is scary and it is fun. Plus it introduces Jason Voorhees as the antagonist, so it is an important sequel in the series in this respect.

Like the first 'Friday the 13th', 'Friday the 13th Part 2' is far from the best when it comes to acting. The exceptions are appealing Amy Steel and a truly freaky Warrington Gillette. Everybody else ranges from average to dead-end.

Nor is it the best when it comes to dialogue. Much of it is very crude and cheesy. Or character development, and what the film does worse than the original is that we don't sympathise with the characters here as much apart from Ginny. The ending is a head-scratcher and pretty nonsensical, not the truly unsettling one of the first film.

Visually, on the other hand, it improves over the original 'Friday the 13th' quite drastically. It's still creepy but has more of a professional, slicker look and like more time was dedicated to it. Like 'Friday the 13th', 'Friday the 13th Part 2' is very gory and gruesome, though not pointlessly so, but it is also very frightening and suspenseful.

This is apparent in the deaths, which are still very creative and shocking, and the hauntingly eerie music score. 'Friday the 13th' is assuredly directed and moves along at a lively pace. As said, Steel carries the film with a good deal of appealing charm and Gillette proves why Jason is often considered an iconic character in horror.

Overall, pretty good sequel and one of the better ones of a variable franchise. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981) is a fine sequel or continuation to the classic slasher horror film that lots of people remember, but of course it still has slasher movie cliches that at this point are dated with how bad they are.

The acting is fine for the time the movie came out and these characters will still do cliches old slasher movies would always do. Making dumb choices, ignoring any warning of danger, and running away from any unpleasant situation.

I am quite sure people know who the killer is for how well known it is, but if not, I will not say anything about it. We are mostly looking for the kills, and there are some that are effective.

There is good cinematography that gave some scary camera shots because there are good handheld camera shots that fit the scenes it is shooting; I especially liked some camera shots that were in the perspective of the killer that looked cool.

Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981) is a fine sequel to the slasher movie that is worth watching either by yourself or with friends and that is good for a horror movie night to enjoy for what it is. Watch this if you have seen the first movie.

The first Friday the 13th sequel follows the formula with more camp counselors showing up at Camp Crystal Lake and being slaughtered one by one. This is the first of the series where Jason is the killer, although he doesn't yet have his iconic hockey mask. He wears a sack over his head instead. He also gets kicked in the nads. Pretty funny, honestly.

The cast is full of young actors playing obnoxious teens and twenty-somethings. Adrienne King briefly reprises her role from the first film before Amy Steel takes over as the 'final girl.' Acting-wise, Steel's an improvement I think. This one also has more cute girls than the first movie and more nudity, which would become a prerequisite for the series. The tracking shot of Kirsten Baker's rear end as she walks through the woods is priceless. As with the first movie, I really liked the locations they filmed at. Gives an authentic atmosphere to the film without appearing cheap, like most of today's low-budget horror films do. If you like old-school slashers, you'll like this one. It's solid entertainment that you don't have to take seriously, despite the macabre subject matter.

Friday the 13th Part 2 is very similar to the original in feel and atmosphere. A little more of the killer is shown throughout the movie this time (stomping through the forest, hiding in the shadows...), but gone is the mystery factor that made the original so great. You know who the killer is within the first few scenes.

But that doesn't matter. It's an entertaining horror classic in it's own right, and features the most inventive finale to any of the Friday the 13th movies.

So many refer to this as the debut of Jason Voorhees. It wasn't...simply the debut of him killing people. He left that to his mom in part one! Steve Miner didn't mess around too much with Sean Cunninham's successful formula simply adding some quite inventive kills and bloodletting.

No-one could be accused of using method-acting here, truth is its all pretty embarrassing. The high-school script though probably isn't that much out of place - they are schoolkids after all.

Jason himself, though still slightly diminished of stature is one creepy little dude, still without his hockey mask but wearing a burlap sack with holes cut out for his eyes. What appears to be his demise is of course anything but...as parts 3 to 10 will attest. The final 15 minutes are quite tension-filled and better than anything in the original.

A must-see for devotees of the series.